gosling

American  

[goz-ling] / ˈgɒz lɪŋ /

noun

1. a young goose.

2. a foolish, inexperienced person.

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gosling British  

/ ˈɡɒzlɪŋ /

noun

1. a young goose

2. an inexperienced or youthful person

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Etymology

Origin of gosling

1375–1425; late Middle English goselyng; see goose, -ling ¹; cognate with Old Norse gæslingr

Explanation

A baby goose is called a gosling. If you visit a farm in the springtime you'll get to see all the calves, ducklings, lambs, chicks, and goslings! The word gosling has Scandinavian roots — it comes from the Old Norse gæslingr, adding a diminutive suffix to gos, or "goose." So a gosling is essentially a "gooseling," like a duckling, a smaller and cuter version of an animal. Goslings hatch from eggs in nests built close to a body of water, and they are taught to swim and feed in the water almost immediately after they hatch.

Example Sentences

Amazon is raking in cash at the box office after sending Ryan Gosling to space with “Project Hail Mary.”

From MarketWatch • Apr. 15, 2026

The Amazon MGM film, which stars Ryan Gosling as a teacher-turned-astronaut who awakes on a spaceship with a mission to save Earth from a dimming sun, has earned nearly $257 million in total domestically.

From Barron's • Apr. 12, 2026

Amid all those preoccupations for his physical performance, Ortiz also had to deliver his lines and be present in the moment, reacting to Gosling with spontaneity.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 7, 2026

Actor Ryan Gosling and a cute alien named Rocky are doing wonders for a five-year-old science-fiction novel.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

As Gosling recalled, “Rosalind let rip in her best pedagogical style: ‘you’re wrong for the following reasons’...which she proceeded to enumerate as she demolished their proposal.”

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee